Wounded
by Noche de Estrellas
Summary: When nightmares get a hold of you and being alone seems closer than you think, what do you do? Do you let the person you're afraid of losing comfort you or do you try to push them away?


**A/N: For reference, this starts after Season 2. It's sort of spoilerific for Season 3 episode 1 but not really so I'm warning you now. I'm not sure if any of this is in the episode. I highly doubt it, but certain random things mentioned are so...yeah. Enjoy!**

Red flashing lights. No, pitch dark blackness….broken glass and Amanda!

Must get to Amanda. Think. How do I get her out? How? Wait, back door to the left.

Yes, possible escape route. Now get to Amanda. Gunshot? Kyle!

"Jessi, wake up!"

She could feel her body being shook around, but it didn't stop the terrified scream still stuck in her throat. A pair of arms took her in and a calloused hand began to stroke her hair. Small shh sounds flittered in and out of her ears as her scream dialed down to a small whimper. Her eyes were stilled squeezed shut and she was limp in his arms.

"Jessi," his voice was filled with concern. That concern washed over her like a blanket, shielding her from the horrors of her nightmare. First a blink and then another before she slowly opened her eyes. She pushed against the bed and leaned more into his embrace. A careful hand crept forward, feeling around the area that she saw him get shot at. Right above the heart. Her hand lifted off, shaking slightly, before she used it to push away from him. His concerned gaze watched her as she scooted out of the bed and began to pace.

"It was nothing," she said. Her tone short and precise, but her broken expression giving away her lie. Of their own accord her hands wrapped around her middle. A stance she had come accustomed to since their last mission. It was her way of blocking out the world and therefore protecting herself. Her eyes snapped up when she heard his heavy sigh. His head was in his hands.

"Jessi, I know it's not nothing. If it was nothing then you wouldn't have woken up screaming my name."

His hands dropped to the bed as he used it to push himself up. Walking to her, he pulled her arms away from her waist and placed them at her sides. His right hand traced down to her palm, stroking the underside of it. Her eyes closed involuntarily at his touch and a lone tear trailed down her cheek. When he saw the tear, he pulled her into his arms. He felt her legs give out and he slowly led them both to the floor. Backing against the door, he began to stroke her hair as she cried into his shoulder. A couple of minutes went by before he heard her soft sniffing. She didn't move, only sat there breathing in shallow breathes. Her head shifted closer to his neck. He could feel her mouth moving, but she wasn't vocalizing.

"I can't understand you when you're talking into my neck."

She let out a small laugh tinged with a sob. "I said you got shot, Kyle."

He blinked. "Yeah, I did."

She shook her head. "No, I mean in my dream. I was reliving when you got shot. It was like I was back there again holding onto Amanda and hoping that you hadn't died. I was so scared and I know that I should have listened into our connection, but I didn't. My mind was all over the place and because of my fear I couldn't hear you. I couldn't feel you, Kyle. Do you know how scary that was? If I had lost you that day I …," her voice trailed off.

Kyle pulled Jessie away from his neck and turned her body in front of his. He watched as she got situated and sat crossed legged. Placing his hands on her cheeks he asked, "Do you feel that?"

"Yes"

He closed his eyes next and concentrated. "And do you feel that?"

She let her eyes slip close. "Yes"

_I'm not going to leave you, Jessie_

_You can't promise that_

_Yes I can. It doesn't matter where we are. I'm always going to be here for you. Even when I'm dea.._

_Don't say it!_

_Even when I'm dead._

Jessie broke the connection. She pushed Kyle into the door. "Don't say things like that," her mouth curved into a sneer.

She pushed him again. "It's easy for you to say things like that. All that crap about death and how we're always going to be together. It's not true, Kyle! If I died you wouldn't be alone. You have the Tragers and Amanda and all these other people that love you. But what about me?" Her hand shook as she pointed at herself. "I would be alone."

He tried to grab her hand, but she snatched it away from him. Turning her back to him, she shuffled across the floor. Not really crawling, but more like a gracefully, broken shuffling of her knees. His green eyes shifted to the side. He couldn't quite look at her as he said, "You have Sarah." They stayed in that same position even as he heard her bitter laugh.

"Yeah, Sarah. A lot of good she was to me. Where is she, Kyle? Hmm do you know?" Her tone brought his eyes to her. Green and brown battled for dominance, but in the end brown won. "I thought so."

_I'd be alone too_

Kyle's eye grew wide. He realized that he let that slip through their link. It was almost like that thought had a mind of its own.

_Right, you wouldn't be alone_

Deciding to forgo going over to her, Kyle began to explain. "As cheesy as it sounds there is no one like you Jessie. I couldn't replace you and our connection makes that feeling even stronger. Yeah, I would have the Tragers and Amanda, but I wouldn't have you. I don't know what I would do without you. You're like my other half. If I were to lose you then I would lose myself; there wouldn't be a me left for them to have."

A smile slowly made its way onto Jessie's face. Dropping her head down she tried to hide it.

_Don't do that. I like it when you smile…it's beautiful_

She laughed.

_It's beautiful when you smile too_

Kyle laughed at that and stood up. Stepping toward her bed, he sat on the end of it.

"Would it help if I was next to you?"

A light blush crept on Jessi's cheeks. He had sat there plenty of times since she moved into the Trager's home, but this time it was different. This time he was going to stay. She didn't trust herself to say anything so she just nodded. Her eyes watched as he spread the blankets back. She really wasn't watching his task, but more so the tightening and loosening of his muscles while he did it. That was one of the best things about him in her opinion; his arms. They were likes safe havens. A place she could go when she felt hurt or scared. Somewhere where she wouldn't be judged and she would be protected.

Kyle climbed into the covers and motioned for her to join. He had positioned himself on the opposite side of the bed; far enough for comfort and near enough for reassurance. Jessie followed suit making sure to stay on her side of the bed.

_Goodnight_

_Goodnight_

As her lids started to drift shut she felt a small pressure on her hand. Kyle had linked their fingers together almost like he was trying to tell her that he would be her anchor. A faint smile appeared on her lips as she drifted off to sleep.

_I love you, Kyle_

He had already fallen to sleep, but somewhere in his subconscious he had caught her last thought because a tiny smile made its way onto his face.

_I love you, Jessi_

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